A Father’s Mesiras Nefesh Keeps Inspiring Another Generation
In a tribute to his father, Rabbi Meir Avtzon, Rabbi Sholom DovBer Avtzon shares how a family’s mesiras nefesh can guide children and grandchildren long afterward • Full Story, Photo
A story of mesiras nefesh does not end with the person who lived it. In a tribute to his father, Rabbi Meir Avtzon, Rabbi Sholom DovBer Avtzon describes how that example continued to shape a classroom decades later.
A former talmid recently reminded him of a difficult period when the yeshiva could not pay its teachers. When classes stopped, Rabbi Sholom DovBer Avtzon offered to continue teaching his class at the shul where he davened.
He explained his decision to the boys through his father’s life in Soviet Russia. Rabbi Meir Avtzon had risked his safety to keep Tomchei Tmimim operating in secret. If his father had faced that danger for the Rebbe’s yeshiva, the son felt he could not simply stop teaching when the circumstances became difficult.
Years later, the former talmid told that story at his own Shabbos table. His ten-year-old son was moved by the example, showing how one generation’s mesiras nefesh can reach a child who never witnessed it.
The tribute also recalls the family’s move to America at the end of 1953. Given a choice between settling in Philadelphia and Detroit, Rabbi Meir Avtzon asked the Rebbe about remaining in New York. The Rebbe advised Detroit, pointing to the chinuch and environment there at the time.
Once the family settled there, their work helped strengthen Yiddishe life. Rabbi Sholom DovBer Avtzon recalls that his father received the Rebbe’s telegrams and shmura matza for the community, and that both parents took responsibility for the needs around them.
His message is a practical one for families: tell children about the dedication of their own parents and grandparents. A family story can become a living example of standing firm in Torah, mitzvos and the Rebbe’s shlichus.
Archival newspaper photograph of the Avtzon family arriving in America. Faces have been blurred.
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